Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN: A COLD WALK HOME
Eleanor nodded deferentially to her father. She gestured to her security team. “Escort my father to the backup vehicle. Make sure the paramedics check his shoulder thoroughly.”
As the team moved to assist Mr. Chen out of the ruined showroom, Eleanor turned back to Liam one last time.
“You will be receiving legal notices from our corporate attorneys by the end of the business day,” she stated, her voice returning to its clinical, business-like cadence. “Civil assault, battery, and a comprehensive audit of Vanguard Logistics’ collateral assets. I suggest you retain very good counsel. Though, given your new financial reality, you may struggle to find anyone to take your calls.”
She turned on her heel, her stilettos once again crunching over the shattered glass of the showroom doors. She climbed into a waiting secondary SUV that had pulled up to the curb, leaving the wrecked armored vehicle sitting in the middle of the Zenith showroom floor as a monument to her wrath.
The police sirens were beginning to wail in the distance, drawing closer to the scene.
Liam Vance was left standing alone in the center of the showroom. The crowd of onlookers, realizing the show was over, began to disperse, casting judgmental, disgusted glances his way.
A junior sales associate, looking terrified, approached Liam with a black plastic trash bag. “Sir… your belongings from your car. I… I have to ask you to leave the premises before the police arrive. Zenith Automotive is formally issuing you a trespass warning.”
Liam took the garbage bag. It held a few gym clothes, some designer sunglasses, and a half-empty bottle of expensive cologne. It was the sum total of his remaining tangible assets.
May you like
He walked slowly toward the massive, gaping hole where the glass doors used to be. The crisp, cold New York air blew into the showroom, chilling him to the bone. He stepped out onto the sidewalk. He had no car. His credit cards were undoubtedly already declining. His father was likely having a heart attack in his corner office.
Liam looked down the busy avenue, watching the taillights of the Chen family convoy disappear into the flow of city traffic. He clutched his plastic garbage bag tightly against his bespoke suit, lowered his head, and began the long, cold walk home.
